Another One Of Your Basic Timetravel Fics
by Zchocolatebunniesrulezworld
Summary: First before you read this:MAJOR HBP SPOILER! DON'T EVEN READ THE SUMMARY IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK! So, anyway, the title says it all. Harry goes back in time, and meets the Marauders. Pairings include SiRem, LiJam, and, I guess, a TINY HINT of HarGin
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I have yet to read a time travel fic that goes the way I want it to, so I have decided to write one myself. It starts on page 596 (in the American version) of HBP. It follows what happens in the book until page 599, where I start writing.**

**Disclaimer: I AM NOT J.K.ROWLING! SHE WROTE ALL THE HARRY POTTER STUFF! NOT ME! DON'T SUE ME!**

**Warning: HBP major spoiler, some minor spoilers from other HP books too. And also, if you know me at all, you shall know that there will be RemusSirius SLASH, so if that offends you, DON'T READ THIS FIC.**

**Chapter 1:**

Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry's scream of horror never left him; silent ant unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air. For a split second, he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backward, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.

Harry felt at though he too were hurtling through space; _it had not happened. . . . It could not have happened. . . . _

"Out of here, quickly," said Snape.

He seized Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest; Greyback and the squat brother and sister followed, the latter both panting excitedly. As they vanished through the door, Harry realized he could move again. What was now holding him paralyzed against the wall was not magic, but horror and shock. He threw the Invisibility Cloak aside as the brutal-faced Death Eater, last to leave the tower top, was disappearing through the door.

"_Petrificus Totalus!"_

The Death Eater buckled as though hit in the back with something solid and fell to the ground, rigid as waxwork, but he had barley hit the floor when Harry was clambering over him and running down the darkened staircase.

Terror tore at Harry's heart. . . . He hat to get to Dumbledore and he had to catch Snape. . . . Somehow the two things were linked. . . . He could reverse what had happened if he had them both together. . . . Dumbledore could not have died. . . .

He leapt the last ten steps of the spiral staircase and stopped where he landed, his wand raised: The dimly lit corridor was full of dust; half the ceiling seemed to have fallen in; and a battle was raging before him, but even as he attempted to make out who was fighting whom, he heard the hated voice shout, "_It's over, time to go!"_ and saw Snape disappearing around the corner at the far end of the corridor; he and Malfoy seemed to have forced their way through the fight unscathed. As Harry plunged after them, one of the fighters detatched themselves from the fray and flew at him: It was the werewolf, Fenrir. He was on to p of Harry before Harry could raise his wand: Harry fell backward, with filthy matted hair in his face, the stench of sweat and blood filling his nose and mouth, hot greedy breath at his throat—

"_Petrificus Totalus!"_

Harry felt Fenrir collapse against him; with a stupendous effort he pushed the werewolf off and onto the floor as a jet of green light came flying toward him; he ducked and ran, headfirst, into the fight. His feet met something squashy and slippery on the floor and he stumbled: There were two bodies lying there, lying facedown in a pool of blood, but there was no time to investigate. Harry now saw red hair flying like flames in front of him: Ginny was locked in combat with the lumpy Death Eater, Amycus, who was throwing hex after hex at her while she dodged them: Amycus was giggling, enjoying the sport: "_Crucio—Crucio—_you can't dance forever, pretty—"

"_Impedimenta!"_ yelled Har_ry._

His jinx hit Amycus in the chest: He gave a piglike squeal of pain, was lifted off his feet and slammed into the opposite wall, slid down it, and fell out of sight behind Ron, Professor McGonagall, and Lupin, each of whom was battling a separate Death Eater. Beyond them, Harry saw Tonks fighting an enormous blond wizard who was sending curses flying in all directions, so that they ricocheted off the walls around them, cracking stone.

One of his spells, a blue-green one that Harry had never seen before, collided with another hex; they merged together and formed a completely different spell; reddish-orange in color. It started bouncing off the walls, emitting an earsplitting screeching noise and growing bigger all the time, because it seemed to attract every other spell fired.

Finally, it tore through a painting of twelve Siamese cats and was _absorbed _ by something sitting in an alcove behind it, leaving behind a cloud of orange dust with purple flecks.

A short pause followed, before Harry heard a shout of,

"_Impedimenta!"_

He didn't know who had cast the spell; he had no idea if it had even been meant for him, all Harry knew was that he was being blasted foreward towards the empty space where the painting used to be.

Time seemed to slow down; he could see the fight raging again in the corridor as the Death Eaters struggled to retreat, he could see Ginny running towards him, and he saw the smoke rapidly diminishing, to reveal. . . .

'_Uh-oh'_ he thought to himself, even as he tried to stop himself from being thrown onto the object in front of him. '_This can't be good.'_.

A time-turner, putting out a sickly green color and a foot high was placed there; it was shaking warningly, and Harry, though he tried to prevent it, crashed into it.

Harry suddenly found himself paralyzed, a situation that would have been immensely uncomfortable had it lasted for more than a few seconds. Soon, a low buzzing resonated in his ears and he started to spin uncontrollably. The corridor blurred, then there was a _bang_ and Harry was thrown out into the hall as the hourglass exploded.

Harry sat up, groaning and rubbing his head where it had slammed into the wall, and looked around.

And jumped about a foot into the air.

His gaze had locked onto a pair of emerald green eyes—the same color and shape as his own. Harry only knew one person besides himself with those eyes, and that dark red hair. . . .

"James?" Lily Evans asked.

**A/N: Oooohhh, a little cliffie there, isn't it. Well, if you like my story, REVIEW. Prettyprettyprettyprettyplease???**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I got two reviews!! YAY!! Thank you purpleducki88, I shall try to update really soon, and SemiAngel8, sorry I just love cliffiesJ But, apparently, this story got _35 HITS_ and not a single one of you (besides the 2 I just mentioned) reviewed! PLEASEPLEASEPRETTYPLEASE review! It makes me update faster!**

**Disclaimer: Everyone ELSE should be disclaiming. I am the one who REALLY wrote the Harry Potter books. (that's what I would be saying if I was J.K.ROWLING, who actually did come up with the lovely Remus and Sirius)**

**Warning: This fic will contain SLASH, for those of you unwary readers, it means that I shall have Remus and Sirius snogging each other eventually. If you don't like that, I won't be offended if you decide not to read this fic. **

_Last Chapter:_

_Harry sat up, groaning and rubbing his head where it had slammed into the wall, and looked around._

_And jumped about a foot into the air._

_His gaze had locked onto a pair of emerald green eyes—the same color and shape as his own. Harry only knew one person besides himself with those eyes, and that dark red hair. . . . _

_"James?" Lily Evans asked._

This Chapter:

"We were coming back from Astronomy, and there was an explosion, and you just appeared." She continued in her soft voice. "What happened—how did you get here?"

Harry was caught completely off guard. "I—er. . . ." What followed was some extremely quick thinking.

_Ok, so she thinks I'm my dad. . . . My mum! Right here! And dad's here, too! And Sirius, and Remus, and. . . . No, Harry, stay on topic. What would James be doing in the middle of the night that would cause an explosion and have him end up here? Hmmm. . . . _

And then an answer came to him, so suddenly that he blurted it out lout.

"Sirius!" he cried, and inwardly congratulated himself on that brilliant save.

His mother's eyes held no anger, only confusion. "What about him?" Lily inquired.

"Err. . . ." Harry started, then realized something. He didn't know if anyone had seen his godfather recently. Yes, it was the middle of the night (Lily and the crowd behind her had just come back from Astronomy, after all), but from what he had seen in Snape's Pensive in his 5th year, and the conversation between Sirius and Lupin afterward, he knew Sirius and James had been troublemakers to rival the Weasley twins. They could have snuck out, and someone here could have seen them.

A flash of annoyance entered his mother's (his_ mother's_) gaze.

"_What,_ Potter?"

Deciding to throw caution to the winds, Harry put on the excited, boyish grin he had seen his father use.

"It was _wicked_, Evans! Me'n Padfoot were dueling, and Moony shot a spell to break us up, and all three of our hexes _ collided!_ Next thing I knew, I ended up here with you." Harry couldn't resist messing up his hair with one hand and adding, in a deeper, more manly tone, "By the way, Evans, where are we meeting for Hogsmead? I can't wait. It'll be just the two of us. . . ." Harry raised his eyebrows in what he hoped was a cocky and suggestive manner. It was_ fun_ being James.

Lily's reply, however, was. . . . well, see for yourself

"Merlin! NO, Potter! WHAT will it take to get through that thick skull of yours? I WILL NOT GO OUT WITH YOU!" She threw up her hands, and stormed away.

The onlookers laughed and applauded, except for a few girls whom Harry took to be Lily's friends. They glared at him, and stalked off after Lily.

Harry grinned and bowed, sinking completely into the role of James Potter.

"Now, if you'll excuse me gentlemen. . . . ladies. . . ." Harry proclaimed, looking at the girls in a manner that made them swoon, "I really need to be getting back to the other Marauders. They're probably in dire need of my company."

With that, he bowed, turned around, and strolled out of sight.

As soon as he turned the corridor, Harry dashed into a secret passageway behind a talking mirror. There, he slumped to the ground, as the full enormity of what had happened crashed over him. How would he get back to his own time? Well, the obvious answer to that was Dumbledore. . . . _Dumbledore._ The image of Snape casting the curse, and Harry's professor falling limply to the ground, swamped over him for a minute that seemed like hours.

A new thought, however, drove away that terrible vision _He could change the past!_ Harry could tell_ this_ Dumbledore everything; his parents would still be alive, Sirius wouldn't have been in Azkaban, and Dumbledore wouldn't have. . . . Yes, he had to get to Dumbledore_ now_.

Refreshed by that thought, Harry got up and dashed along the passage, which he knew would take him _anywhere_ in the castle (thank Merlin for the Marauders' Map), and opened the door at the end. He stumbled out into a corridor that Harry knew was nearby the headmaster's office.

He dashed to the left, seeing the door he had come out of disappear out of the corner of his eye. Harry arrived, panting, at the stone gargoyle that blocked the spiral staircase leading to Dumbledore's office.

"_Damn,_" He muttered, as he realized he didn't know the password.

"Watch your language, boy!" the gargoyle reprimanded.

"Sorry." Harry racked his brains for every sweet he could think of.

"Acid Pops."

"Nope." The gargoyle said smugly.

"Fizzing Whizbee."

"Nope."

"Chocolate Frog."

"Nope."

"Lemon drop?"

"Oooh, you're a smart one."

"So that's the password?"

"Nope."

Harry cursed, and kicked the gargoyle, resulting only in a stubbed toe and a laughing jerk (can stone be a jerk? Well, this gargoyle is, anyway)

"Cockroach Cluster."

"Nope."  
"Blood Lollipop."

"Dammit." The gargoyle moved aside.

Harry grinned, and ran up the spiral staircase. He rapped twice on the door, and a familiar voice form inside called, "Enter." It reminded Harry of all the times he had came to this office for his private lessons. That thought led to Voldemort, and a question Harry didn't want to think about. _What would happen to Voldemort if Lily didn't sacrifice her life for Harry? Would he just continue gaining power? Would the Dark Lord win?_

Harry shoved that dark possibility away, and walked inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I deserve to die a horrible and painful death. No, I deserve worse! I should have to read a RemusTonks fanfic for not updating in, like, a month! Well, here's a chapter, anyway. R&R???Please???**

**Disclaimer: I don't want to get sued! I don't own Harry Potter! **  
_Last chapter:_  
_Harry grinned, and ran up the spiral staircase. He rapped twice on the door, and a familiar voice from inside called, "Enter." It reminded Harry of all the times he had come to this office for his private lessons. That thought led to Voldemort, and a question Harry didn't want to think about. What would happen to Voldemort if Lily didn't sacrifice her life for Harry? Would he just continue gaining power? Would the Dark Lord win?_  
_Harry shoved that dark possibility away, and walked inside. _

_This chapter:_

Dumbledore's office was exactly the same as it had been when Harry was last in it. Portraits of previous Headmasters and Headmistresses lined the walls, spindly-legged tables with silver instruments upon them were scattered across the room, Fawkes was perched on his golden stand, and the same claw-footed desk was in the center of the room. Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind the desk, trying to manage an enormous pile of paperwork.

Dumbledore looked up, and reacted at once. He pulled out his wand, aimed it at Harry, and flicked his wrist. Instantly, silver ropes shot out of the tip of his wand and wrapped themselves around Harry. He tumbled over, wondering why the _hell_ his Headmaster was_ attacking_ him.  
Dumbledore calmly walked over to Harry and aimed his wand at the bemused teen's chest.  
"Now," he stated conversationally, as if talking about the weather; yet there was a cold edge to his voice, a tone Harry had never heard before from his Headmaster, "you will tell me how you got past the wards on the school, what your real name is, and why you attempted to impersonate one of Hogwarts's students—James Potter—yet with obvious mistakes. Do not lie; trust me, I will know if you do."  
Harry had no idea at first what Dumbledore was talking about—and then it hit him. The idea that _Dumbledore_ thought _Harry_ was a _Death Eater _would have been laughable; had Dumbledore not been aiming his wand directly at Harry's heart. Harry had never suspected that _this_ would happen.

No, that was not true. Harry hadn't considered how Dumbledore would react to him. Now that he thought about it, Harry realized that one of Voldemort's top priorities must have been to get inside Hogwarts. His logic, however, didn't make this experience any less…any less…

_ Surreal._ This entire situation felt like a dream. Waves of disappointment crashed over Harry before he even realized why. Then it hit him. He wouldn't get to save his parents, his godfather was destined to die, and Severus Snape would kill the man standing before him—why? Simply because all this had already happened. Harry must have gotten hit by a hex in the corridor while running after Snape; he was probably unconscious right now—either in St.Mungo's or on the floor in the corridor, depending on how much time had passed.

But there was a small possibility that this _wasn't_ a dream. That tiny chance, the chance that he _could_ change the future, was the only thing that kept Harry going.  
"Sir…I…er…" this was not easy. How could Harry make Dumbledore believe him?

"You see…" and then all the words came out in an unplanned jumble. "My-name's-Harry-Potter-I'm-not-impersonating-Da---James-I-really-look-like-this-and-I-got-past-the-school-wards-because-I-never-really-left…I'm-from-the-future."

There was a pause.

Harry expected Dumbledore to react in a number of ways. He thought perhaps Dumbledore would scoff. He might threaten Harry to tell him the truth. Or have him put in St.Mungo's—or a Muggle asylum. What Harry did _not_ expect Dumbledore to do, however, was release Harry from his bonds and offer him a squashy purple armchair. Which was, of course, exactly what he did.

"Hot chocolate?" Dumbledore asked, and before Harry could reply, Dumbledore had summoned a House Elf who could be no more than two feet tall.

"Sima, will you bring us two mugs of hot chocolate please?" Dumbledore said genially.

"Yes, sir, Sima will be right back, sir!" Sima squeaked. With a _crack_, she disappeared.  
Dumbledore turned to one of the portraits on the wall, a chubby, red-nosed man, who was staring intently at the pair of them; as were all the other portraits of the past Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts. "Bartholomew, what was your solution?"

"Well, Albus," the man—Bartholomew—replied in a booming voice "it was different for me. She had only traveled back a few days; I knew it would be best to just have her wait for her past self to travel back in time. This boy is the spitting image of James—who has been in here often enough for me to tell—so I'm assuming that he has gone back an entire generation. I have absolutely no idea what you should do."

"Yes, I rather thought so." Dumbledore mused, seeming to talk to himself more than to Harry or Bartholomew.

_ Crack._ Sima had reappeared; two steaming mugs topped with whipped cream and marshmallows in her hands.  
"Ah, thank you Sima." Dumbledore stated, still somewhat vaguely. "Nothing like two piping hot mugs of cocoa to help one relax, eh?" Dumbledore took the cups, handed one to Harry, and took a sip from his own. Sima bowed, and with a final _crack_, disappeared.  
Dumbledore stood up, still seeming to not really notice where he was. He walked over to one of the spindly-legged-tables and gingerly lifted up a silver object that looked somewhat like a silver cigarette lighter. He studied it for a moment, then murmured,"Yes, I think this will do." He returned to his seat at the desk, and turned to Harry.

"This, Harry, is an invention of my own called a Deluminator." He demonstrated the object by flipping it open and clicking it. Immediately, the light from the lamp zoomed into the Deluminator, plunging the room into darkness. Dumbledore clicked it again, and light returned to the room.

Harry wondered what the Deluminator had to do with anything that was happening at the moment. He was just about to ask, annoyed at his Headmaster's vagueness, when Dumbledore spoke again. "That is not all this does, however. I am working on a secret feature that will enable the user to go to the place they need to be if love is involved. I think, with a little bit of work and much time, I can extend the feature to time as well." Dumbledore seemed to be talking to himself more than Harry now. "But I'll need to enable a self-destruct timer in it so it can only be used once. And of course, I'll need the exact date, time, and place—my invention is not yet advanced enough to figure it out on its own. But maybe if I ingrained some of the DNA of the person in question, and added an age-time-recognizing feature, the date would be automatically put into it. Of course, there is always the question of the space-time-continuum..."he continued on like this for some time, his conclusion being, "Of course, this will take an extremely long time...at least a couple months." Dumbledore then realized that Harry was there. "Harry, I think that you will need to stay at Hogwarts as a new student for the remainder of the year—term started a few weeks ago, and I need you to stay somewhere where I can keep an eye on you. Judging by your size, I'd say you are in...the end of your sixth year? The beginning of your seventh, perhaps?"

Harry nodded. He then remembered where—and, more importantly, _when_—he was. "Sir, I need to tell you something." his voice took on an urgent quality as he stared directly into Dumbledore's eyes. This was it. The moment in which he could change his entire life—if, that is, any of this was really real. But it had to be. Harry just couldn't accept that all this was a dream. He took a deep breath. "My parents—Lily and James Potter..."

But he was cut off as Dumbledore raised a hand. "Harry," he said gently; understandingly, "there are things that happen in the past that are destined to be. I understand that you are tempted to do anything you can; to warn anyone about troubles ahead, but you have no idea of the consequences changing the past could yield." Dumbledore's voice became wistful; an extremely strange tone to hear coming from him. "I, especially, know what you are going through, I think. If given a chance like yours, I don't know if I would...even though the results would be unimaginable..." he snapped back into the present. "You must not change the past, Harry. You could erase your entire existence, and I don't know what would happen then. Would you disappear? But if you had never existed, then you would never gone back in time, thus, you wouldn't have destroyed your own existence. The result, I think, would be that time itself twists up. What that means for humans, I can't imagine..." Dumbledore trailed off, perhaps considering what would happen in that situation.

Harry was, truth be told, more than slightly miffed. Here he was, about to fix _everything_ that had gone wrong, and here _Dumbledore_ was, speaking to him as if Dumbledore _understood_. He could have no idea what Harry was trying to do—if he stopped Harry now, Dumbledore wouldn't know of Snape's betrayal; he'd _die_. He tried to keep his annoyance out of his voice when he responded to his Headmaster.

"_Sir,_" Harry implored, "you don't understand. I wouldn't be messing anything up, you need to listen, I could"

But Dumbledore cut him off again. "I am afraid _you_ don't understand, Harry. Try and imagine, just for a moment, that whatever it is you want to change had never happened. You have no idea, do you? That is because the past _makes_ the future. Every tiny detail has an enormous impact. If, for instance, you"

Harry interrupted. "Don't you_ see,_ sir? That's what I'm _trying_ to do!" If only Dumbledore would just _listen_...

"Yes, Harry, I know." It was maddening. For all the passion fueling Harry, for all his anger and fear, and, above all, hope, Dumbledore had nothing. No emotion. "And that is why you must not change the past. You don't know what would happen."

"_Yes,_ I do!" Harry was past anger now; he was _enraged_. "You don't understand; this has to do with—you, and my parents, and...and..." he trailed off. _Voldemort_. The thought that he had shoved away before entering Dumbledore's office returned. If Lily hadn't died...if she'd never sacrificed herself...

A number of thoughts connected in Harry's head at once. Voldemort had only lost power because of Lily. If Harry prevented Voldemort from hearing the prophecy...or if he just stopped the Potters from making Wormtail their Secret Keeper...Voldemort might never fall. Harry recalled the conditions of the First War; described to him by various members of the Order. Would he really end up saving his parents' lives? What if changing the past made Sirius die, or Lupin?

"You see?" Dumbledore asked. That was it. Harry snapped.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I DON'T CARE IF THERE ARE RISKS; I'LL TAKE THEM! NOW LISTEN! DON'T MAKE" but Dumbledore flicked his wand, and Harry suddenly found himself unable to make a sound.

"I am truly sorry, Harry," Dumbledore started. "But if you can't keep the past a secret, then I am afraid I shall have to keep this charm on you. You can speak normally, but your voice box will cease to function any time you start to talk about the future. It is the only way."

Harry wanted to scream and cry and hit and kick the man sitting before him, but he knew it would do no good.

"Now," Dumbledore continued—as though the matter was said and done with! What was _wrong_ with this man? Harry had no intention of just sitting back and letting his parents die, he'd try with all his might to somehow warn them. Harry realized Dumbledore was still speaking. "—and we shall have to do something about your appearance. And, I think, changing your last name would be appropriate. How about...Harry Patterson?" When Harry didn't object, Dumbledore continued. "Which house are you in? Gryffindor, like your father?"

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"And you will be starting your seventh year. Your father is in your year; he has only recently been appointed Head Boy, along with..." Dumbledore broke off, as something dawned upon him. "Your mother...did you say her name was...Lily Evans?"

Harry nodded once more, wondering where this was going, but he couldn't speak to this man.

A grin spread across Dumbledore's face. "Well, I can't say it was unexpected. Minerva will owe me five galleons when they get together, though. She thought Miss Evans would have a little more sense. Now," and his tone became much more businesslike, "I think a change in appearance would be in order for you. You look much too much like your father for people not to become suspicious." and without a word in warning, Dumbledore whipped out his wand and flicked it at Harry. A strange tickling sensation passed over Harry. Dumbledore then gestured to a full-length mirror that had just appeared. Harry walked over to it.

He was the same height. His hair had turned a shaggy reddish-orange color reaching a little past his ears, and his eyes dark blue. He was more muscled and less gangly. His scar was still on his forehead, and he still needed to wear his glasses.

All in all, he was staring at a complete stranger. Not that it mattered—right now, Harry didn't really care what he looked like. His anger at Dumbledore was overshadowed by excitement—_he was going to see his parents!_

Harry turned back to Dumbledore just as Dumbledore started to speak. "I think it would be best not to tell the staff where—or, should I say, when—you are from. The fewer people who know, the better. You also need supplies if you will be staying for the year."

He flicked his wand, and a cupboard on the far wall flew open. Out of it flew a cauldron and a bag, filled halfway with books, parchment, quills, and ink bottles. After a moments hesitation, Dumbledore flicked his wand once more and some clothes also appeared and folded themselves neatly in the bag.

"That is all that you need, I think. I will have the Head Boy 'show you around Hogwarts'—just so nobody wonders how you know your way around the school if you haven't been here before, of course."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. His _father_, show him around Hogwarts? That meant Sirius and Lupin would stick with him, too, he might even become part of their gang! The Marauders—Moony...

_ Wormtail_. How would Harry stand being around the person who would be responsible for his parents' deaths? Harry couldn't tell what he knew; nobody would believe him anyway. He would have to be _civil_ to the traitor. The thought disgusted him, but it was the only thing he could do.

Dumbledore summoned Sima again and told her to bring Harry's new things up to the seventh-year Gryffindor boys' dorms, and to bring an extra bed up there. She disappeared with a _crack_.

"Harry, it is nearly morning. Do you want to stay here for the remainder of the night, or do you want to go up to the Gryffindor dorms?"

Harry couldn't stand one more minute in Dumbledore's presence. "I'd like to go to the dorm, sir."

Dumbledore nodded. "The password is, 'Gillywater'. Good night, Harry."

" 'Night, Professor," Harry replied. He set his mug of hot chocolate, still full, on the desk, and left the room as quickly as he could.

The Fat Lady was snoring in her portrait.

"Gillywater. _Gillywater_. _GILLYWATER!_" Harry had to yell.

She jerked awake with a start. "Who're you?" she slurred sleepily.

"New student. Harry Patterson. _Gillywater._" Harry said forcefully.

"All right, all right, no need to shout. You could have come in the day like any other normal person, you know." she said waspishly, before swinging open.

Harry barley spared a glance to the Gryffindor common room. He was _exhausted._ He climbed lethargically up the stairs to the seventh-year boys' dorm, and pulled open the door.

It resembled a chaotic battlefield. Belongings were scattered everywhere, along with food wrappers and unrecognizable moldy objects in the corners. Mud tracks were spread along the floor, oddly in the shape of dog paws. There were five beds, and only two of them were not falling apart. A Wizard's Chessboard was on the floor, and the pieces were scattered across the room, most of them unmoving, but a few were fighting each other. Exploding Snap cards, Gobstones, a few sparse books, and more objects were spread about.

Harry stared at the mess before making his way towards the only bed where the curtains weren't drawn. He flopped down on it and sighed.

He felt something hard in his robes. He pulled it out with an odd sense of dread. It was the locket. Somehow, in the midst of the cave, or maybe when they were Apparating, or when they were flying toward the castle, the locket had found its way from Dumbledore's pocket to a fold in Harry's robes.

But there was something wrong. Harry felt the locket franticly. It wasn't as large as the locket he remembered, nor was there any sign of the _S _that was Slytherin's mark. With trembling fingers, Harry opened it. There was a scrap of folded parchment in the place of a portrait.

"Lumos." Harry muttered. By wandlight, he unfolded the parchment.

_To the Dark Lord_

_I know I will be dead long before you read this_

_but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret._

_I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can._

_I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,_

_you will be mortal once more._

_R.A.B._

Harry dropped the locket on the floor, the note along with it. He neither knew nor cared what it meant. All that mattered was that Dumbledore had weakened himself, thus causing him to be unable to defend himself, for nothing. They had sacrificed so much...for nothing.

Harry's eyes burned with tears.

**A/N: Do you like it? Do you? Do you? Tell me!!!!! Here are the review responses, btw.**

**SemiAngel8:****Thank you. This isn't **_**as**_** cliffish, I guess. Keep reviewing, it makes me really happy. Actually, I think that the only thing I'll do all day is sit in front of the computer waiting for reviews (what can I say, I'm obsessed) :)**

**Vikertee****: I know what you mean. WolfStar (another name for puppylove, in case you didn't know) is addicting. I think I'll be making this slightly AUish (that's when it isn't true to the book, right?), nothing too different, just the Willow Prank (you know, when Sirius sends Snape to the Whomping Willow) will be happening in 7****th**** year instead of sometime before 5****th****. I just think I need to include that, because it is very important in the puppies' relationship. Tell me what you think?**

**Sylkie:**** My 2****nd**** ever LOL! It makes me so proud...did you like this password? It just seemed right, for some reason. Don't ask me why. Oh, and thanks for the review, btw.**

**Harryjamespotter65:**** You like it? Thank you. But one question: what did you mean, 'it's me James'?**

**Truest-of-true-loves:**** For the first review, about JK's tone, THANKS SO MUCH!!!!! That's what I was trying to do; I had to keep editing it n'stuff 'cause I didn't like how it sounded. THANKS AGAIN!!!! I don't think I kept her tone so much in the last chapter, this chapter was OK, I guess. For the second review (you reviewed both chapters! That's so awesome! Thanks!), I tried to get more emotion into this chapter. It'll be easier in the next one, when Harry finally meets the Marauders. Thankssomuch again!!**

**Paige and the Loquacious Table:**** Thanks alot! I can't wait for the puppylove to start either, and as I said to Vikertee, I think I'll be changing the time of the Willow Prank to 7****th**** year, 'cause it's so important in Remus's and Sirius's relationship. Was this chapter long enough? The next one will be longer; Harry's 1****st**** day at Hogwarts with his parents! I can't wait to write it! Thanks for the gargoyle comment, btw. My third LOL! **


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